Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1887-04-07
DOWN IN THE DEPTHS.
Wrecked Sealing Steamer Goes
nown With Two Hundred and
Sixty Souls.
ina Rlay.e of the APPALLING Calamity
Due toa Rotten Boiler.

ai,satch from st. Johns, n. f., of
April 1st says
steamer Eagle with all on board Is con
s.med. The calamity is the most apall-
no that ever befell the province of Now
foundland.
M 26O 1aen on board not one survives
~ tall the story of the disaster.
More than one thousand widows and
|.biIdren in this city and vicinity, most eff
|bem in poverty, are mourning the loss
of husband or father.
The lost vessel was last seen by the
steamer Aurora on the night of the 18th
|iost. near Funk's island in BIena Vista
bav. which is about one hundred miles
Northwest of this city. A trightful sea
4ss running at the time. The next
corning the Aurora could find no truce
|of the Eagle.
A message arrived to-day from Grecu-
poud on the bay, saying that Light
House Keeper Cabot boarded the sealing
steamers Vanguard and Hector off that
place a few days later. Both these vessels
reported passing spars, floating forecastle
and other wrecksg0, including the name
board of the Eagle, near the spot where
he was last seen. Lighthouse Keeper
|Cabot is a thoroughly reliable Insn, and
his opinion that the Eagle has gone
down
WITH ALI. ON BOARD
/, seemingly conclusive, aside from the
|evidsnce from other sources. The other
Steamers of the feet are spoken and re-
ported every few days, and all have been
|heard from since the 18th except the
|Eagle, No one here eny longer doubts
that all on board have persisted.
Regarding the circumstances of the dis
ster, there are two theories, about equal
4 " terrible. One is that the boilers ex
|ploded, in which event all on board would
have persisted at once in tho awful sea.
|The other is that she vessel in some way
|got into the breakers, which would have
made death no less certain than by the
first mishap. The sea that night is de-
scribed by the men on the other vessels
of that fleet as the most terrible that evsr
ragged even on this savage coast. No
ship once caught in the awful breakers
could possibly escape, and no small boat
could land a man alive on the rocky, pre-
cipitods coast. Anything that could float
large or small, would have been ground
to pieces on the wild rocks.
The Eagle carried crew of 80 men,
and about 30 sealors. Their
EXACT NUMBER Is NOT KNOWN.
All the sealing steamers carry large
forces of men. The nature of the work
makes it necessary. The seals are gem
orally found upon the ice in large schools
or colonies. The men get as close as
possible to them, and then, aimed with
clubs, rush in among them and knock
lover as many as possible before they
have time to escape to the water. The
more men there are, tho more seal are
captured.
Capt Jackman, commander of the
Eagle, was recognized as the bravest
skipper of the colony. Until 1885 he
was king of the sealing fleet. In that
season for the first time il. his exper-
fence, he failed to secure any seals. Last
year i'll luck again attended him, and he
ost the steamer Resolute near the same
tatsl Funk's island, but his crew escaped.
Later the same season he took command
Of the Eagle, and within few weeks
SIZE BROKE HER srAFT.
She was reftted and a month ago she
started On her lasc voyage.
Nearly all she men on board were mar
ned and were in the prime of life.
BY reason of the impoverished condi-
ton of the colony, nearly all the newly
made widows and orphans are without
means of support, and distress among
them will be great